Spaghetti fork



June 14, 1955 R|N0 SPAGHETTI FORK Filed Nov. 29, 11952 JNVENTQR. Joz? @Az/1o ATToRNEYs.

United States Patent 1 2,710,449 SPAGHETTI FORK .lohn J. Crino, Providence, R. I. Application November.' 29, 1952, Serial No. 323,209 2 Claims. (Cl. 30-322) This invention relates to a spaghetti fork in which the tines of the fork may be readily rotated Without rotating the handle and thus aid in the gathering up of spaghetti, macaroni, spinach, or other string-like food.

One of the objects of this invetnion is to provide a table forli which may be easily held in one hand and the tines thereof rotated by merely pressing downward upon a solid object.

Another object of this invention is to prevent the tine assemblage from rotating when it is desired to utilize the fork for normal purposes.

With these and other objects in view, the invention consists of certain novel features of construction as will be more fully described and particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings:

Figure l is a front view of the fork structure with a cut-away section of the handle;

Figure 2 is a side view of the fork with a cut-away section of the handle;

Figure 3 is a front view of the barrel assembly of the handle section;

Figure 4 is a View of the sleeve fitting over the handle section; y

Figure 5 is a sectional View taken on lines 5-5 of Figure l showing the spring type catch; and

Figure 6 is a sectional View taken on lines 6-6 of Figure 1 showing the handle construction with its internal bore.

In proceeding with this invention, I provide a plurality of tines with a spiral stem extending therefrom and a handle section having a bore therein adapted to accept the spiral stem. The handle section is provided with a cam follower to co-operate with the spiral stem and cause rotation thereof when the handle is moved longitudinally of the stem. I further provide a latching means on the handle section to prevent rotation of the tine section.

Referring to the drawing, 10 represents the tine assemblage comprising inner tines 11, 11 and outer tines 12,

12', the inner tines being longer than the outer tines. l

Attached to this tine assembly is a shaft 13 of flat stock material which has been twisted to dispose its opposite edges along the path of a helix providing approximately three complete turns and which has at its upper portion a stop lip 14. Covering the shaft 13 is a tubular member 15 provided at its lower end with a jaw 16 which acts as a cam follower and snugly engages the shaft 13. At the upper end of member 15 there is a recess 24 in which a capping disc 23 may be itted and secured. Aixed to the upper portion of the tubular member 1S is a handle to aid in grasping the fork, which may be made from any suitable material. It is generally elliptical in cross section as shown in Figure 6 and is provided with an axially disposed bore to press t over the tubular member 15. At the lower end of the tubular member 15, I provide a latch comprising a piece of spring stock 13 which is generally L-shaped and is secured along the outer surface of the tubular member 15 with a leg 18' of the latch extending through a slot 19 to engage a notch 19 in the shaft 13. To hold this spring stock in position as shown in Figure l, I provide a sleeve 20 which is limited in its downward movement by a split ring 21 that fits in groove 21' of the tubular member 15 and in its upward move ment by the handle 17. To prevent rotation of the sleeve 20, the bore may be axially scored to engage a protuberance (not shown) on the member 15. To limit the motion of the shaft 13 within the bore of tubular member 15, I provide a pin 22 near the lower end of the tubular member 15 which will engage the lip 11i and limit downward movement, while movement upward is limited by lip 14 engaging the cap or disk 23 at the other end ot the tubular member 15.

To use this fork, it is merely necessary to grasp it in either hand as a regular eating fork and allow the tine section to drop out of the handle section by sliding collar 20 upwardly to release the spring member 18 'from engagement with the notch 19 in the shaft. The tine section is then engaged with the string-like food such as spaghetti or the like on a plate by placing the same perpendicular to the plate, and the handle is pushed downwardly to impart a turning action on the tine section by virtue of the cam 15 acting on the helical section of shaft 13. The two longer tines 11, 11 act as a pivot about which the fork rotates, while the shorter tines 12, 12 clear the plate and do not retard such rotary movement. The third finger of the hand may then be pressed against l the upper portion of the tine section to hold the tine section from slipping out when the fork is lifted to the mouth. However, instead of using the third linger to hold the tine section when the fork is lifted, the collar 2i) may be pushed down to lock the spring member 18 in the notch 19 of the shaft, which will hold the tine section stationary with respect to the handle section. Additionally, should it be desired to use this fork as an ordinary table fork, the tubular member 2i? is merely pushed downwardly to engage the spring member 18 with the notch 19 of the shaft, which will lock the tine section with respect to the handle section for any use that is desired to be made of the fork.

Various departures may be made from the embodiment shown in the accompanying drawing; for instance, the helical portion 0f the shaft may be cylindrical and provided With a spiral groove as shown in the Chandler Patent No, 880,277.

I claim:

l. A spaghetti fork comprising a handle having an axial bore, a tine assembly having an integral shaft extending through the bore, said shaft having a helical screw portion thereon, cam means at one end of said handle engaging said helical screw portion, said shaft having a notch therein, a piece of spring stock secured to said handle and having a portion thereof passing through said handle, and means on said handle to selectively press said portion of the stock into engagement with said notch to lock the tine assembly to said handle and release said portion from engagement to permit rotation of said tine assembly relative to said handle.

2. A spaghetti fork comprising a handle having an axial bore, a tine assembly With an integral shaft having inner tines and outer tines, said inner tines being longer than the outer tines to form a pivot, said shaft extending through the bore and having a ilat helical twist, follower means at one end of said handle engaging said shaft, a notch in said shaft adjacent the tine assembly, means on said handle to selectively engage and disengage said notch, said means comprising a piece of spring stock secured to said handle and having a portion thereof passing through said handle, a sleeve slidably mounted on said handle to selectively press said portion of the stock into engagement with said notch to lock said tine assembly to said handle and release said portion from engagen ment to permit rotation of said tine assembly relative to said handle.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 880,277 Chandler Feb. 25, 1908 1,204,762 Haney Nov. 14, 1916 2,004,659 Groch June 11, 1935 2,602,996 Piche July 15, 1952 

